Your Excellency Ms Svenja Schulze,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to commend the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, for organizing this virtual high-level ministerial conference – and the preparatory dialogues series – on behalf of the German Federal Government.
The key messages and recommendations handed over to me today, will significantly support the preparations towards the 2023 UN Water Decade Conference. I thank all participants for their contributions.
The Conference in 2023 provides an important opportunity to take stock and escalate action to reach the water and sanitation-related goals and targets, which we all know are severely off track.
Many of the distinguished speakers today have shared valuable insights of what needs to happen to accelerate implementation of SDG 6 and related targets:
- We need to quadruple our efforts to achieve universal access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, which currently billions of people lack.
- We need a cross-sectoral approach supported by the requisite policies and institutions, to make SDG 6 everyone’s business.
- We need to optimize financing to triple our investments to reach SDG 6, by 2030.
- We need greater access to information and data, to better implement and track progress on water-related measures. And,
- We need to develop sustainable capacities and scale-up innovative solutions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 2020, the UN system launched the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework as a unifying initiative. Its aim is to deliver fast results at an increased scale.
The five accelerators identified in the framework, which the Conference today builds upon, will improve support to national progress on SDG 6. All stakeholders were called upon to galvanize actions around these areas. Indeed, it is encouraging to see the movement it has created.
The United Nations system committed to implement the framework, and has already started with concrete actions, including:
- the SDG 6 Capacity Development Initiative,
- the SDG 6 Acceleration Action Platform, and
- the yearly SDG 6 Special Event at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, just to name a few.
The High-level Political Forum, which my Department, UN DESA, serves as Secretariat, provides a dynamic platform for regular dialogue, stocktaking and agenda-setting to advance sustainable development.
Every year, the Forum, as the main UN platform on sustainable development, adopts an intergovernmentally-negotiated declaration, which provides political leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development.
Member States have stressed the need to enhance the consultative role and participation of the major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the international level, to make better use of their expertise.
UN DESA stands ready to continue to support your involvement and looks forward to welcoming you next week.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The conference today was a significant milestone in the preparatory process towards the 2023 UN Water Decade Conference. Earlier this year, as you are aware, the President of the UN General Assembly organized a high-level meeting on water.
It is exciting to see such interest and momentum towards the 2023 Conference. UN DESA stands ready to support the co-hosts Tajikistan and The Netherlands to make 2023 a success. We count on the active engagement of all for an ambitious and inclusive conference.
Let me once again thank the Government of Germany and all stakeholders for their leadership and continuous support to the preparatory process.
UN DESA remains committed to working with you all.
I thank you.